Dump-car.



R. M. ZIMMER'MAN.

DUMP GAR.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 2, 1910..

Patented Nov. 21; 1911.

-3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l l 3 nl R. M. ZIMMERMAN.

DUMP CAR.

APPLICATION FILED s11P1.2, 1910,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented 11011.21, 1911.

R. M. ZIMMBRMAN.

DUMP GAR. APPLIOATON FILED 8221.2, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., wAsmNaToN. n. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT MONTAGUE ZIMMERMAN, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL DUMP GAR COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

DUMP-CAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Application led September 2, 1910. Serial No. 580,228.

ZIMMERMAN, of the city of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dump-Cars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates particularly to dump cars of the type having fixed bodies presenting a discharge opening and gravity discharge doors hinged to the side edges of the said opening, and the invention may be said to consist of the construction, combination, and particular arrangement of parts hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

For full comprehension, however of my invention reference must be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters indicate the same parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view of a car constructed according to my invention the section being taken on the line A-A, Fig. 4; Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged detail views of a cam pulley forming a part of the door operating gear, and illustrating such pulley in different working positions; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one end of the car partly broken away; and Fig. 5 is a bottom plan of the middle portion of the car.

In the car illustrated the body comprises a floor frame consisting of a pair of side sills b end sills c longitudinal intermediate sills d, auxiliary sills e and e situated transversely between the sills d; and filler blocks e2 between the sills o and d, and the superstructure carried by this floor frame comprises inclined end hopper walls f and side walls consisting of vertical and inclined i portions g and h respectively, the longitudinal intermediate sills al and auxiliary sills e having the hopper walls fastened thereto and forming the frame of the discharge opening of the car.

- The doors 1I and j are hinged as at 7c to the sills d forming the sides of the discharge opening and are longitudinally reinforced near their'inner edges by Zebars Z, the ends of which project beyond the ends of the doors as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the upper lflanges of the Z-bars being secured to the underside of the doors and disposed a short distance away from the inner edges thereof, the saiddoors being transversely reinforced by angle irons m, also secured to the underside thereof, such angle irons overlapping at their inner ends the flanges of the Z-bars. Brackets n, to be presently further alluded to, are secured to the Z-bars and project inwardly therefrom.

Situated about midway of the width of the car and at opposite ends of the door frame are a pair of longitudinally placed counter-shafts p each having rigidly `,mounted thereon a cam pulley presenting double cam grooves r and being rotatably supported'in angular bearings s secured to the tranverse sills e and e', the counter shafts being held againstlateral Vdisplacement from their bearings by Cotter pins t. The cams are formed by deepening approximately one half of the grooves as at n within a short distance of the center of the pulley, the bottoms of such deepened portions decliningas at o in opposite directions from the center thereof. The countershafts are placed as shown a slight distance to one side of the center line of the discharge opening, or meeting point of the doors for a reason to be hereinafter pointed out. These pulleys are operatively connected to the free ends of the doors z' and j by chains 2 and 2a respectively, the connection between the chains and doors being effected by pins 4 in the brackets n before mentioned. The opposite ends of the chains areattached to the cams by means of eye lbolts 5 which pass through webs 6 formed across the grooves said eyebolts having nuts 7 screwed on their ends.

The cams r are rotatedto cause the chains to wind thereon and close the doors, by `means of endless chains 8 looped over sprocket wheels 9 rigidly mounted on the countershafts p and sprocket wheels 10 rigidly mounted on a square shaft 11 which extends as shown, longitudinally of the car at a point a short distance beneath the inner edge of one of the side sills d. This shaft 11 is supported 'in bearing brackets 12 and 12a secured by bolts 13, ory otherwise, Vto the underside of the car frame, the shaft having bearing sleeves 14 fixed thereon which bear in the brackets 12a and permit of the shaft being rotated, collars 15 formed on the sleeves preventing longitudinal displacement of the latter and the shaft. In order to cause the upper reach of chain 8 to clear the intermediate sill d an idler 16 is vprovided to deflect t-he chain as shown in Fig. 1, this idler being mounted in a bearing 17 secured to the underside of the sill.

rIhe shaft 1l is operated to close the doors by means of an oscillatory operating lever 20 loosely mounted thereon at a point about midway between the ends of the discharge opening and carrying a weighted pawl 21 which engages with a ratchet wheel 22 rigidly mounted on the shaft. A second ratchet wheel 123 is fixed upon the shaft 1l and engaged by a pawl 23 pivoted to a bracket 24: secured by bolts 25 to the bearing bracket 12 this ratchet wheel and pawl serving to lock the shaftfagainst reverse rotation upon the backward oscillation of the lever 20. lWhen not in use the lever 20 is held by a ring 27 slidable on a centrally odset strap 28 secured at both ends to one of the uprights of the car frame and adapted to hold the lever in such position.

As shown in the drawings the journal of the cams is placed at one side of the meeting point of the doors in order to place the center lines of both chains perpendicular to the doors when closed and in line with their meeting edges, the advantage of which will be presently pointed out. With this form of cam and particular arrangement thereof relatively to the doors when closed the load on the latter is caused to exert practically entirely a shearing action on the journal of the cam owing to the close proximity of the chains 2 and 2a to the journal.

The free ends of the doors are connected by a pair of check chains 30 at opposite ends of the doors and out of direct line of t-he flow of the material.

Operation: To close the doors shaft 11 is operated by lever 20 in the direction of arrow 200. This operation of shaft 11 also serves to operate shafts p through chains 8 and sprockets 9 and 10. As shaft p rotates the cams r thereon also rotate and the chains being wound thereon pull up the free ends of the doors and close the latter.

The purpose of the cam grooves will now be explained.

When the doors are closing the cam disk assumes the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the comparatively flat port-ion o of t-he cam groove directly above the center line or meeting point of the doors, the shaft p being set as shown a slight distance to one side of this line. It thus follows that the doors are suspended from the shaft p with minimum torque thus enabling the doors to support greater load in proportion to the strength of the shaft.

To discharge the contents of the hopper; the pawls 23 are released from engagement with the ratchets 123; then lever 20 is operated in reverse direction to arrow 200, until the upper end of the cam face e is turned sufliciently to cause the force exerted by the load on the doors to turn the cam wheel r when the doors drop precipitately to open position the chain 30 stalling the doors.

That I claim is as follows 1. In a dump car, the combination with a pair of doors, of operating means therefor, including a double grooved cam pulley rotatably mounted on the car adjacent to the door, a pair of chains connecting the pulley with the said doors and means for rotating the cam pulley, including a sprocket wheel rigidly connected to the cam pulley to rotate the latter, a second sprocket wheel, a shaft on which said second sprocket wheel is rigidly mounted, a chain looped around both of said sprocket wheels, and a lever for operating the shaft.

2. The combination with the dump doors z' and j, of o eratingmeans comprising the cam pulley iaving the double grooves r each having approximately one-half thereof deepened as at n to within a short distance from the center of the pulley with the bottoms of such deepened portions declining in opposite directions as at o from the center thereof, the chains 2 and 2EL connected at opposite ends to the pulley and to the respective doors, and means for rotating such pulley, substantially as described.

3. In a dump car, the combination of a hopper having a discharge opening, a pair of doors hinged to the sides of such discharge opening, a pair of alined counter shafts mounted on the car longitudinally thereof and a slight distance to one side of the center line of the discharge opening and located at opposite ends thereof, a pair of cams rigid on each of the counter shafts, chains connecting each of the cams with the doors, and means for operating both counter shafts simultaneously.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT MONTAGUE ZIMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

STANLEY C. KING, ALBERTES BA'roHELoR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

